Felix Pena

Pena has pitched in parts of four major-league seasons with the Cubs and Angels; the Angels have used him in a swingman capacity the past two seasons. Teams need pitchers to soak up innings throughout the year, and that's a role Pena can fill quite nicely. He lacks the stuff to be anything more than a fifth starter and lacks the stuff to work in high leverage out of the bullpen. What he can do is come in and sponge up innings in blowouts to give the bullpen a rest or spot start when the team is on a schedule grind and doesn't have off days to give the rotation a break. What he can't do is positively impact your fantasy roster outside of adding to your strikeout total and vulturing some wins. That will come at the cost of some damage to your ratios. He is on the mend from August surgery to repair a torn ACL, and will probably open the year on the shelf, which makes him unappealing in almost all formats.

Pena spent much of the first half shuttling between Triple-A Salt Lake and Anaheim before being called up for good in mid-June. Working primarily as a starter, Pena showed promise, logging seven quality starts (including six of his last eight efforts). In fact, from Aug. 15 on, Pena recorded a 3.49 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, fanning 45 in 49 frames. Even with that strong finish, Pena isn't assured of breaking camp in the rotation. The Angels fortified their staff with a couple of veteran hurlers and it's unclear if they intend to stick with a six-man rotation. Pena relies mostly on a sinker to generate groundballs. Pena's whiffs emanated from his slider with a 20.9% mark and changeup at 16.3%. Pena won't be highly sought after, making him enticing (if he's starting) in deeper formats as well as shallower leagues where streaming pitchers is a common practice.

Pena spent 2016 primarily in Triple-A Iowa before finishing the regular season with the Cubs after getting called up to make his major league debut on Aug. 19. He was fairly unexceptional in his 11 appearances with Chicago, posting a 4.00 ERA along with a 2.70 FIP. Prior to his call up, The 26-year-old right-hander produced better numbers in Triple-A, earning a 3.41 and 3.20 FIP over 31 appearances. Pena has always had major league caliber stuff, as evidenced by his 31.6 strikeout percentage, but his success in 2017 will likely come down to his command. Pena's 9.0 percent walk percentage in Triple-A last season will need to come down if he is going to be able to stick around in the Cubs' bullpen in 2017. Nonetheless, he will have a good chance to find a middle relief role in the Cubs' bullpen if he is able to pitch effectively in spring training.